Magic is being wrought at Flux Metal Arts in a small Mentor Avenue building where Kim Baxter and George Catavolos share their love for small-scale metalworking and jewelry design.

The two artists and their small contingent of instructors transform bits of metal, wire, stones and other materials into elegant chains, pendants, and rings -- and teach others how to do it.

You'd think that the machines that press, saw, file, heat, shape, melt and form brass, copper, silver and gold would be the province of those built like stevedores, but both Baxter and Catavolos are ordinary people. True artists, they know how to put the tools to work in their craft.

The beautiful necklaces and other jewelry displayed in the windows of Flux Metal Arts have lured shoppers from Heinen's, just opposite. But those who step inside soon realize it is far more than a jewelry shop.

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Items created actually transcend jewelry. Architectural details, grouped on a wall, began as photographs of work created by long-ago stoneworkers who crafted tombstones at Cleveland's Lakeside Cemetery. The artist transformed her photos of those tombstone details into metal squares using processes that seem like magic to the uninitiated.

"We use techniques that others before us have developed, but we also develop our own techniques," said Baxter, who finds the creative process especially exciting.

She earned her bachelor's degree in fine arts from the Cleveland Institute of Art and teaches in the jewelry/metals program at Lakeland Community College in Kirtland. Baxter's work is also seen in shows and galleries, and she creates one-of-a-kind, commissioned and limited-edition jewelry, some of which is showcased in display cases at Flux.

Catavolos came to metal arts through many years as a stained glass artist doing private commissions and working for some of the area's other stained glass artists. During one of his tours of other artists' studios, he became enamored with the work of metal artists and committed himself to learning the craft.

The two met while sharing a small metalworking studio with two others in a co-op. They knew others like themselves who needed studio access, so formed their partnership to fill a niche for studio space and classes in the local community.

Most classes fill a full day, the instructors teaching basic skills that result in a finished project to about eight students, who each get plenty of time from the instructor.

"Our precious metal clay class has so far been among the most popular classes," Baxter said.

Originally developed in Japan during the 1990s, metal clay is a clay-like substance that can be shaped and reshaped until it's fired. When fired in a kiln or with a torch it becomes dense, melting away the clay to reveal the metal. Although most people use the fine silver form, metal clay is also available in 22-karat gold, copper and bronze.

It's an ideal substance for beginners who might fear working with a torch, one of the basic tools used to shape and soften metal for jewelry-making.

Although most of the classes available at Flux Metal Arts are limited to those 16 and older, those 12 and older may attend the precious metal clay classes.

No metalworking experience is needed, and students learn rolling, texturing, cutting, shaping finishing, firing and polishing the clay to create several pieces of jewelry. Flux makes the necessary tools available to those in the classes.

The tools, which are expensive, make a studio like this worth its weight in gold to both hobbyists and trained jewelry makers and metal workers.

"When classes aren't scheduled, studio time is available to students and experienced artists of all levels who seek a professionally equipped space to work independently on their metal projects," Catavolos said.

Artists can choose hourly, daily or unlimited access, removing the limitations of space and cost of equipment from their creative process.

The studio also sells supplies typically not available at craft and hardware stores. Sheet metals, bezel wire, silver solder, jewelers' saw blades, and wire made of copper, brass and nickel can be found at Flux along with cabochon stones, those domed gem stones flattened on one side for mounting.

Flux's five-session Introduction to Jewelry and Metalsmithing program will take place on Thursday evenings, beginning April 11. Baxter teaches this basic skills class using primarily copper and brass, taking each student through the design and fabrication of his or her own piece of jewelry or small metal object. Participants learn sawing, filing, forming, surface textures, soldering with a gas-fueled torch and bezel setting of stone. Tools will be made available, and basic materials will be provided, with both silver and stones available for purchase. Sessions will run from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. each Thursday through May 9, and the fee is $200.

Most classes take place for several hours on Saturdays and cost $60 to $100, plus a materials fee.

There will be a class Saturday in Bezel Setting Basics in which each student will finish a ring, pendant or pair of earrings. In addition to the $95 class fee, a $25 materials fee pays for copper, brass, silver solder and up to 6 inches of bezel wire.

A unique process called fold forming will be taught from 1 to 4 p.m. March 23. Simple tools are used to quickly develop three dimensional surfaces to create two copper cuffs.

A class April 20 will show participants how to frame a piece of beach glass with copper wire, accenting it with a Swarovsky crystal. Class members need to bring their own beach glass.